Traveling with a baby is never easy. But now, after two round trips (to opposite coasts), and eight planes and multiple airports later, I think I have a better handle on what to except when traveling and flying with a baby.
For our Christmas present from my father-in-law he flew us out to Massachusetts to visit family. Then, my dad flew us out to California to visit my family a week after we got back from MA. None of them were a straight shot, so it took two plane rides each way, each time. To save money, we didn't purchase an additional seat for our baby, so she was supposed to be our "lap child". Here is a list of things I've learned along the way...
1. What to bring? We were staying with family so we'd have access to a washer and dryer. This cut down a little on what we needed to bring. Since it was during winter months I mostly packed sleepers and other warm clothes for the baby. For a week to 10 day stay I packed roughly 10 sleepers and 3-4 pants and socks, and 4-5 oneises. I also packed spit-up rags, receiving blankets, and regular blankets. Additionally, I packed a towel and washcloth for her, baby soap and lotion, saline drops, bulb syringe, baby Tylenol, diaper cream, and of course toys. I pumped for the first flight and I was going to bring my breast pump, but decided not to...actually, it didn't really fit. So I took about 5 ounces of breast milk on the first plane ride. Since it was breast milk the security screening people didn't give me a hard time about it exceeding the liquid ounce limit. Oh, and of course diapers and wipes! I grabbed a new pack of wipes and I packed about 10 or so diapers. Since I didn't really have the space I decided to buy a small pack of diapers when we got there. (That would out just fine.)
2. How to pack? I checked with the airlines before hand and found out that we could bring her car seat (it's aircraft approved) and stroller (since it was a combo) for free. We checked one big bag, then I had her diaper bag for me and her, then my husband had his backpack. I actually think we probably could have gotten away with having one more small carry-on.
3. Not all airlines are created equal. We flew 3 different airlines and some were better than others. There is one we will try to avoid flying with at all costs. Since we're starving students we wanted to save money by only checking one bag ($25 each time...). Well that means I needed to get a lot of stuff in that one main bag. Each time it was over the weight limit. It needed to be 50lbs or less and it was always 53 or 54lbs. The first 2 airlines let it slide. The third airline said it would be an addition $90 (!) unless we took stuff out to make it weigh less. So we took some jeans and shoes out and put them in the carry-on we were also taking.
4. Early Morning Flights. Most of our flights were during the 6 o'clock hour. It wasn't so bad, although we were waking up at 3:30 or so to make it to the airport in a timely manner. And sometimes the airport was busy and sometimes it was dead. The very first flight out the airport was dead, so we took our time and talked to the ticket person about seeing if we could sit where there wasn't a lot people (in case the baby went crazy during the flight). Since the flight wasn't full, she was able to seat us where there were extra seats. This was a bonus because we were able to take the car seat on the plane (instead of checking it at the gate) and the baby was able to be in her own seat and sleep. Now, not all airlines will allow that (since technically we didn't pay for that seat), but if the flight isn't full, it doesn't hurt to ask.
To be continued...
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